Famous Sikhs

Manmohan Singh

The 17th and current Prime Minister of India.
Considered to be one of the most qualified and influential figures in India's recent history, because of the economic liberalization he started in 1991 when he was Finance Minister.
The first Sikh to become Prime Minister of India.
Manmohan Singh has a doctorate from Oxford University. He is the most educated Indian Prime Minister in history.

Mudhsuden Singh Panesar, popularly known as Monty Panesar, plays for the England cricket team.
He is the first Sikh to represent a nation other than India in cricket.
He is a crowd favorite in England, and many English fans have worn patkas and beards while watching Panesar play.
Nicknames for Panesar include 'The Montster', 'The Python' (as in Monty Python), 'The Beard to be Feared', or most popular 'The Turbanator'.

Actor who has played a number of roles in commercials and Hollywood films, including The Life Aquatic and The Inside Man.
Waris is also a popular jewelry designer and owner of the House of Waris jewelry brand.

Fauja Singh is an over 90 year old marathon runner.
He holds a world record as a runner in his age bracket.
In 2004 he was featured in an advertising campaign, 'Nothing Is Impossible', for sportswear manufacturer Adidas.
While running marathon races in London, New York and Toronto, he raised money for various charities promoting Sikh culture around the world. He has also raised money for a charity dedicated to the care for premature babies.

Widely acknowledged as the father of fiber-optics.
Dr. Kapany has over one hundred patents. His research and inventions have encompassed fiber-optics communications, lasers, biomedical instrumentation, solar energy and pollution monitoring.
He is a Fellow of numerous scientific societies including the British Royal Academy of Engineering, the Optical Society of America, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Named one of seven 'Unsung Heroes' by Fortune magazine in their 'Businessmen of the Century' issue.

Amrit and Rabindra are contemporary British artists of international standing.
Their paintings address contemporary subjects in a detailed, decorative style inspired by the tradition of Indian miniature painting.

The first judge in the United Kingdom to sit in the high court wearing a turban instead of a wig.
Rabinder Singh co-founded the Matrix Human Rights Law Chambers with Cherie Blair, wife of Prime Minister Tony Blair.
He holds a Bachelor of Laws with first class honors from the University of Cambridge and a Master of Laws from the University of California (Berkeley).
Also thought to be the youngest person to sit as a judge in the U.K. high court.

First Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer allowed to wear a turban and unshorn beard.
Graduated from the RCMP training academy in Regina (Saskatchewan, Canada)

First turbaned Sikh to be elected to the Canadian parliament, the Canadian House of Commons. He was first elected to parliament in 1993.
Canadian law prohibited members of parliament from wearing headgear of any sort in the Commons. Malhi's insistence on wearing a turban caused the law to be changed shortly after the election.
Malhi has introduced numerous Sikh ceremonies to the Canadian Parliament (including an annual Akhand Path and a Diwali celebration).
He was also instrumental in having the government of Canada produce a postage stamp bearing the khanda symbol.

Snatam Kaur is an American singer and songwriter.
She is a popular New Age artist, selling over 70,000 albums a year.
Snatam Kaur’s albums have topped New Age Retailer’s Top 20 lists every year since 2004.

Surinder Kaur (1929–2006), was an Indian singer and songwriter.
She sang mainly Punjabi folk-songs, where she is credited for pioneering and popularising the genre and later was known as the ‘Nightingale of Punjab’
Surinder Kaur recorded her first song in 1943, which she sang with her elder sister Prakash Kaur.
She recorded more than 2,000 Punjabi songs over her lifetime.

Nuvraj Singh Bassi is a defensive lineman who plays in the Canadian Football League for the Montreal Alouettes.
He made history as the first turbaned Sikh in the league.

The first Sikh to become a non-medical enlisted U.S. Army soldier since the 1980's without shedding his turban.
Lamba was recruited for his language skills.

Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu was the first Indian woman athlete to win a gold medal in track and field at the Asian Games.
In 1970 she won the 400m in Bangkok with a time of 57.3 seconds.
She also competed at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.